Basic Trope: A virgin, usually a woman, is required to be the subject of a Human Sacrifice.
- Straight: Sarah, a virgin, is kidnapped by the evil Cult of D'yatghra to be used as a sacrifice to their evil god.
- Exaggerated:
- Sarah has been groomed since birth by her parents to be a sacrifice; this includes steering her away from temptation and making sure no one... interferes with her virginity, by the simple expedience of ensuring that she never comes close enough to anyone to even touch them.
- In order to stand the best chance of ensuring that their sacrifice is a virgin, the cult sacrifices newborn babies.
- Downplayed:
- Sarah, a virgin, is chosen at birth to serve as the village god's priestess (and remain a virgin) for the rest of her life, whether she likes it or not.
- The sacrifice just needs a few drops of her blood, no killing necessary.
- Sarah isn’t required to be a virgin, but it's preferred.
- The cult's patron deity wants Sarah as a virgin bride, rather than a virgin sacrifice. Whether or not this is a better outcome for Sarah is debatable.
- Justified:
- Virgins have power.
- Alternately, the evil cult's demonic god is fearful of exposure to STDs with its victims, and wants to play it safe.
- Inverted:
- A woman who is not a virgin is required to be a human sacrifice.
- A virgin is required to commit a human sacrifice.
- A sacrifice is offered to a virgin.
- Subverted:
- The evil cult didn't do a very good job of checking Sarah's virgin status, since she ain't one.
- Sarah points out she lost her virginity at her prom in the hopes that they'll leave her alone. The cult leaders explain their god prefers a girl with some mileage on her.
- The cult requires the blood of a virgin... but not all of it. Killing her would just be gratuitous, and would cause more trouble.
- A nerdy virgin is rejected for his "filthy mind".
- As it turns out, it's not the virgin who gets sacrificed, it's their virginity.
- Double Subverted:
- Sarah claims not to be a virgin. She is lying.
- Or Sarah is a Technical Virgin, making her ignitable for the sacrifice.
- The cult requires the blood of a virgin... but not all of it. Meaning Sarah gets to have her blood shed for their dark god over and over again.
- Parodied:
- A virgin sacrifice is needed. Unfortunately, the cult can't actually find a virgin, so they have to make do with Sarah, who isn't one. Sarah doesn't appreciate the insinuations and snide comments that she's been around the block a few times.
- A male (and nerdy) virgin is used, with all the mocking of the sacrificial victim you'd expect. Hell, he may be happy to be killed rather than have to live with his shame.
- The beast just calls his girlfriend his "virgin sacrifice", because she came to appease him.
- The virgin in question is very ugly and morbidly obese. The beast looks at the crowd offering the poor girl in disbelief, to which the priest worshipping them declares "Well, you never mentioned anything about the virgin being attractive...".
- A bottle of virgin olive oil is sacrificed.
- Zig Zagged: The ritual doesn't require the blood of a virgin... it requires virgin blood, as in blood that has never been used in a ritual before.
- Averted: A virgin isn't specifically required for the sacrifice.
- Enforced: The writer is harking back to old myths and cultural practices.
- Lampshaded: "You know, if I'd known that saving myself for that special someone was going to get my heart ripped out and fed to some evil demon, I'd have probably decided not to wait."
- Invoked: The cult raises Sarah to be the perfect sacrifice by ensuring that she is a virgin from birth.
- Exploited:
- When word of the cult's activities gets out, Bob goes around seducing the virgins so that they won't be sacrificed.
- Sarah might be a virgin but she's also a complete and utter bitch and suspected of several crimes. She's sent without the slightest remorse to the monster's den.
- Defied: As soon as Sarah learns that she's the intended sacrifice, she has sex with the nearest guy or girl.
- Discussed: "You know, it's getting really hard to find virgins for our sacrifices these days..."
- Conversed: "How come it's always a virgin who's getting sacrificed in these stories? Do virgins have magic powers or something?"
- Deconstructed:
- A virgin isn't really needed; it's just generations of rather sexually repressed tradition making its presence felt.
- Women break their hymens deliberately in order to assure their own safety.
- The Cult of D'yatghra just cuts out the middleman and throws a baby to the beast.
- Reconstructed:
- Although a virgin might not necessarily be required, virgins nevertheless do possess certain inherent qualities which improve the sacrifice's chances of success.
- The beast has standards and does not accept virgin children as sacrifices, only virgin adults.
Back to Virgin Sacrifice
